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Turns out he could survive a loss to lower-league opposition. Survive an important continental showpiece against a particularly poor Tottenham teams in living memory. He withstood home defeats against West Ham and Wolves, a lowly league position, an unwavering system, squandering some of the club’s most promising academy products, a poor winning percentage, labeling his team the worst in Manchester United history. But there was one adversary with whom the Portuguese coach was not permitted to engage. You come at the sporting director, and you best not miss.

Regrettably, similar to numerous Premiership defender in Blackburn’s championship campaign, the coach took on the executive and seems to have failed. The most distracted of readers will notice the paradoxical situation: a coach who frequently berated his squad for failing in one-on-one duels succumbing in the face of the intense pressure and animal charisma of a the Premier League’s most intimidating sporting directors.

And frankly, this entire bruising episode seems to paint Jason Wilcox in a whole new light. It may have been tempting, given his nine months in a similar role with the Saints, to regard him as merely a functionary within the club's structure: an individual whose appointment was due as much to his close relationship with ex-colleague a fellow executive as any verifiable talent. How wrong we all were. By masterfully outmanoeuvring the club's celebrated manager, as he outmanoeuvred the hapless Dan Ashworth earlier, he has proved himself as one of football's strategic masterminds: a strategic mind that United’s competitors will now be rightly wary.

The Strategic Clash Regarding System and Philosophy

To illustrate, it was the director who being involved in the leadership that appointed the 3-4-3 fundamentalist the coach originally, played a key role in trying to persuade him to ditch his beloved 3-4-3. Naturally, these pleas were resisted. But perhaps these judgements hold greater authority when delivered by a man with the unimpeachable football pedigree of Jason Wilcox, a veteran of international appearances and a role in a championship team from 31 years ago.

Maybe eventually he might agree to outline his reasoning publicly. Maybe one day he might be asked why Amorim is walking away with full compensation, without any compensation reduction clause in place. The director seldom speaks publicly, for excellent reasons. The real thinkers of this sport – men like him – function on a plane beyond our own prosaic understanding. If he ever did speak, probably we would perceive would be ultrasonic blips and complex calculations. Desiring an explanation is not quite the same as being prepared to comprehend it.

The Ultimate Power In the Throne

But of course, in training our focus on Jason Wilcox we overlook the real power behind the modern United throne. The director is, after all, merely executing the directives of his ultimate line manager Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who in private has emphasized his desire for a back four. It is reported, Ratcliffe has also proposed deploying the forward as a right wing-back. Ratcliffe is keen for the club to embrace analytics and analytics. According to ESPN, in an executive meeting soon after his minority ownership, he declared that United’s style to football “will be determined in this room”.

Ultimately, Ratcliffe is an expert in these intricate football matters, leveraging his previous experience in petrochemicals and yachting. Above all he is incredibly rich, and it is known, the wealthy are the best of us: more insightful, more wise, strategically brilliant, simply better. Who else would you trust to manage an enlightened programme of cost-cutting, the building of a modern arena that looks a lot like an abstract design, the signing of Benjamin Sesko?

A Modern Soccer Order: Directors Over Coaches

This is a trend we are increasingly seeing in top-tier football. For decades, teams mistakenly delegated big footballing decisions to low-level employees like managers, scouts – players themselves. Maybe previously possible for a young, innovative manager with a philosophy and energy to join an organization and see their vision supported to fruition. But how many businesses have these guys established? How many large-scale layoffs have they overseen? Far preferable to place the real power where it rightly belongs: the leadership tier, the open-necked shirt brigade, the guys with the jaw-dropping professional resumes. Better by far to decide the strategy in the boardroom and appoint someone who will adapt their offering accordingly. If managers were formerly chefs, they are now more like delivery personnel: not really creating the food, but still finally accountable should it be delivered cold or leaks out to meet standards.

Nowadays, their job is increasingly not about defining the vision and more about marketing it: the receptionist of the operation, the public face of an organisation they have minimal power to influence. Enzo Maresca takes a squad of very young players into the Champions League and secures domestic cups, and effectively is dismissed for speaking out. Wilfried Nancy sees his standing damaged while the people who appointed him continue to make errors another day.

A Modern Corporate Football: Accountability for the Few

And possibly in a small way this represents neoliberalism at work: the rise of a gilded elite who are infallible, whose choices remain sacrosanct, whose errors can invariably be resolved by sacking without justification. Hire the 3-4-3 coach and then fire him for playing excessively that system. Hire the process guy and later bin him for taking too long. And above all show gratitude; for the incremental increases in ticket costs, for the latest player acquisitions, for the fact that the grownups – however well qualified – are in charge.